9 comments:

You have such a great sense of humor. I have just moved to pristine Idaho, and had thought of doing a tally of my household items to see what I had bought used, as it turns out a tally of what was actually new was a simpler and very short list. I consider myself a "conservative environmentalist". Why liberals think they have the market cornered on the environment is news to me. I have recently been getting an education about forest management from an old timer forester, and I know that a well meaning liberal would simply gasp at what must be done to keep your forested area sustainable while preventing forest fire. I think people like Jane in the city are going to have a very harsh wake up call if the end times came to a neighborhood near her. I love your column and read it daily.

I'd like to say that an earlier version of this article ("Clueless in Seattle" posted on another site back in... wow, August 2010?) was what got me hooked on this blog in the first place. Also, two more thoughts...

1. On one end of the sustainability spectrum, I'm reminded of my great-grandmother's memoirs in which she describes growing up in the city/suburbs just outside of Boston in the early 1900s. Being poor immigrants they had to be frugal, and even in the city they could be at least somewhat "green" before it was a thing -- it was just life. Her mother sewed even their underwear at home, and each week they would give their fat trimmings to the "soap-grease man" who would in return give (not sell, to my knowledge) them a proportionate amount of the "ugliest, yellowest soap you ever saw" which would be used to wash everything from dishes to clothes to bodies.

2. On the other end, Alexander Wang is selling jewelry featuring chain links, padlocks and the like (but probably not much REAL steel, that'd be yucky and too heavy)... for hundreds of dollars a pop.

I just finished breakfast. With only one exception, everything was locally produced. In fact, the eggs were from my chickens, and you can't beat home-made strawberry jam.

Today's To-Do List: Clean house. Do laundry. Water plants that will be ready for transplanting in the garden next week. Check on bee hives. (I just added medium supers to all but one hive. The bees are producing brood and honey at an amazing rate. I captured a swarm yesterday, and gave it to a friend who lost two hives over the winter.) Check progress of garden. (Done. The rain and sunshine this week did their jobs. Some little sprouts are coming up!) Cut asparagus. (This will be eaten with beef, corn, and applesauce for lunch...all of which were all raised on our farm.) Gather eggs. Twice. (Done once.)Feed and water animals. (Partially done.)Check pear and apple trees. (Done. They look good.)

Hubby and Number Two Son's Job:Finish the fence around the new goat barn. (I'm finally getting dairy goats! The first is coming next weekend. They're from #2 Son's girlfriend. A beautiful Saanen who's in milk has my name on her!)

Am I perfect? No. Do I grow/raise everything my family uses? No. The comments I keep hearing (along with laughter) from one person is, "Why would you do, grow, raise that yourself, when you can just go to the store and buy it? Buying it is a whole lot easier." I'll take my life over hers. Thank you for encouraging me in my journey. I love my life! (...and baby grandchild loves the homemade baby food that grew in "our dirt" and was lovingly canned by Grammy. Her mommy and daddy say that she hates the store-bought stuff. Go figure.) By the way, I also work a full-time job, and still have time to sit and type a short note to you. Thanks again! It's time to bet off my hind-end and get back to work.

Reality is something that gets in the way of most activists. They don't want to hear it, they cannot "Believe" in it because their high priests have not ordained it. It's really funny how the same people who want to legally ban religion because it requires faith in something intangible yet practice their political and environmental beliefs with a vigor that should make a 'Bible Thumper' feel humble.

If you can grow even some of your own produce, meat or protein it is very rewarding (in my opinion at least). Obviously not as personally rewarding as driving a hybrid car or only using reprocessed materials but I prefer a car with only one simple drive train and using products that I can afford. Your friend 'Jane' reminds me of the 'Smug Alert' episode of South Park.

As for the predictions of the environmental experts - Were they really scientific predictions or just publishing a wish list? Our planet and most of the species today have been through worse. God help us prevent the damage that an Army of uninformed activists could inflict in the name of being right rather than learning and admitting that they got it wrong...

As all farmers know, you have to work to get something back and NOTHING is for free. In her "self-righteousness" Jane THINKS she is helping the planet. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is like the sad story on the news this am about folks that give stuff after disasters thinking they are helping someone. I mean really, frostbite cream for someone in tropical Africa. Even water in bottles costs thousands of dollars to ship where it is needed. This when relief groups can "treat" the local water sources to healthy standards for a fraction of the cost.

Folks, if you want to help those in disasters for God's sake just give $! Over 65,000 stuffed animals arrived in Sandy Hook after the shooting in December of 2013. This became a BURDEN to the town. Piles and piles of useless clothes for Tsunami victims that had to actually be burned with fuel on the beach.

That wasn't entirely on topic about this post but wanted to get some word out because it made me think before acting on a urgent plea for help. We also need to THINK before we consider if we are actually living a sustainable lifestyle. I really liked the title suggestion though. "Clueless in Seattle". Pretty funny, but also pretty sad.

A dozen of us four wheeling friends get together every earth day for the last 19 years and go celebrate the stupidity. Mother Earth has seen far worse than humans and she'll shake us like fleas on a dogs back when she's done with us..... And still be floating around the sun....